The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1887-08-12

| leg at Chickamauga. In fS64-5 he held command
! for time of the western Confederate army. but
was relieved from duty in consequence of defeats
| received at the hands Of Gen. Thomas He then
retired to private life and to poverty. He died in
1879. leaving large family # dependent children,
who were generously provided for by the citizens
| of the south and elsewhere.
At O'Clock that very morning. Gen. Bu-
ford, securing about with his cavalry, saw
moving "clouds of dust" from the direction
of Gainesville and Thoroughfare Gap. Long
street, with $4,000 men, was already there
thrty-six hours before he was expected As
for Longstreeet, he heard before he reached
Gainesville the noise of the battle that had
already begun between Sigels corps and
jackson, and then, he says, 'the march was
quickened to the extent of our capacity"
By 1880 o'clock Longstreet's line of battle
at Groveton was complete
Hoods batteries were ordered into position
on the Warrenton turnpike Immediately on
their arrival.
Longstreet and Jackson formed their line
of battle in the shape of blunt V at Grove.
ton on the Goth. Jackson was on the right
arm of it, Longstreet on the left. The dispo-
sition was very advantageous one. Lee
commanded in person.
Pope had ordered Mcdowell and Fitz John
Porter to move forward toward Gainesville
on the morning of the Goth. They were at
Bethlehem church, two miles away. Nc
Dowell, being the senior officer, took on him
self the execution of the joint order. He gave
Porter an order and pushed on to the battle
field.
At this point begins the controversy which
led to the historic and interminable Fitz John
Porter case. Mcdowell understood his order
to mean that Porter should take certain
road, where large body of Confederates
Tho
"You put your force in here Porter testi-
fled that he understood the order to be that
he should stay where he was
The battle of Groveton waxed hotter and
hotter. Pope was still ignorant of the arrival
of Longstreet in the afternoon. But at $3.50
he sent an order to Fitz John Porter to come
I'D and go into action. Porter received it two
hours afterward. He did not obey it. He
considered that he could not move his artil-
lery, and that, BESIDES there were too many
Confederates about there to risk it. His sem
tence for disobedience and the subsequent
proceedings in reference to it are familiar to
all newspaper readers.
Ats O'Clock in the afternoon of the Goth
occurred some of the most barbarous fighting
known to modern times. Gen. Grover, of
Hooker's division, charged on the Confeder-
ate left, commanded by A. P. Hill. 1t was a
desperate charge, with bayonet and dubbed
musket, against the Confederate ranks, three
lines deep After ferocious fighting Grover
was driven back The ammunition gave out
among Hills men. They snatched up the
stones from piles that lay about to be used on
the railroad and hurled them against their
foe. When the Union dead were afterward
gathered up a considerable number were
found with their skulls broken.
At other points all over the field the con-
test was equally bloody.
The battle only ceased at Q O'Clock at night.
The armies slept upon the field. Pope be-